Professor Anne Curzan of the University of Michigan studies the history of English. "I have a great job," she says, one where she challenges people to rethink their ideas of how language works. In addition to teaching, she co-edits the respected Journal of English Linguistics and is also on the usage panel of the The American Heritage Dictionary. We had a fascinating and wide-ranging conversation with her about the history of English, medieval language, gender in language and more. Our conversation was so intriguing we broke it into two parts. Here's part one:

Not a Subscriber Yet?

Try it RISK FREE! When you subscribe you get:

Full access to the Visual Thesaurus, including:

Easy-to-use interactive thesaurus and dictionary to explore words and language
Over 145,000 English words and 115,000 meanings to find the right word and discover related meanings
39,000 proper nouns, including historical figures, phrases and trademarks
Intuitive word maps - free associate, brainstorm and use words precisely
Definitions and example sentences to master word usage
Meanings color-coded to indicate parts of speech and improve your grammar
Five additional languages: Spanish, German, Italian, French and Dutch (beta)
Two and three-dimensional views - rotate word maps to reveal complex relationships
Audio pronunciation in American and British accents
Printing and emailing word maps

And exclusive access to our online magazine dedicated to language and the creative process:

Access to great articles like this one.
Features and interviews with writers, ad and marketing creatives, lexicographers, teachers and more.
Join a community passionate about words, language and creativity.

14 day risk-free trial!

We think you'll love the Visual Thesaurus, but if you don't, we make it really easy to cancel your subscription. Just click on "My Account", log in with your username and password, and click "Cancel My Subscription". If you are still within the 14 day trial period, we'll give you the option to receive a full refund -- no questions asked.